My Mugo

M. Frary

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I like the second set of pictures best.
Side b covered set of photos.
More movement and taper.
A little branch manipulation and it would look good I think.
 

M. Frary

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Sometimes it's kind of tough picking a trunkline out of the mess on these trees.
Getting to sit with Vance in person and listening to him explain why he chooses the trunkline he does has given me a leg up on mugo pines.
He's taught me to see what isn't there yet or what it could be.
This can be a great tree. It really doesn't have the knuckle hurdle to get past. It looks healthy too.
Don't forget to leave stubs. I catch myself not doing that sometimes in my fervor to make cut backs. I haven't been burned luckily but I know what can happen when you dont.
 

sorce

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I want to make some stylistic decisions this summer on it, meaning that I want to pick a trunk line to build off of..

This seems tidy (knuckle free) enough to make decisions without cutting anything, as nothing but the new growth seems to be, "getting away from you".

So in that you "must" cut some of the apical new growth, I'd be wary of lopping full branches that aren't ruining anything.

It seems any "trunkline" doesn't yet have useable buds or branches to do the "building off of"...

So I'd keep as much as possible to really get the sap moving before lopping, so you GET those buds to work with on that trunkline.

Less you grafting.

Sorce
 

just.wing.it

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This seems tidy (knuckle free) enough to make decisions without cutting anything, as nothing but the new growth seems to be, "getting away from you".

So in that you "must" cut some of the apical new growth, I'd be wary of lopping full branches that aren't ruining anything.

It seems any "trunkline" doesn't yet have useable buds or branches to do the "building off of"...

So I'd keep as much as possible to really get the sap moving before lopping, so you GET those buds to work with on that trunkline.

Less you grafting.

Sorce
Good point...

And yes, the knuckle is not bad, because it splits into 2 "subtrunks" before the knuckling begins...and I cut most of the knuckle makers away when I first got the tree.

Some clever bending could be in order, but, you're right, I need back budding!
Hopefully some buds will appear this year, as it is it's second year in the colander, and I'm gonna be feeding very strong.
 

Japonicus

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Good morning Mikeb. I’m liking 4th pic post 1 and next to last pic post 3 has an “easy” quick selection
but the 1st one I mentioned, though the trunk line is obscured, has a good branching behavior.
The candle from the left fork (appears side by side with one from right fork)
that is directly over the upper trunk I would make lead to the apex or upper trunk line.
Best of luck, it’s looking very promising.
 

sorce

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Good point...

And yes, the knuckle is not bad, because it splits into 2 "subtrunks" before the knuckling begins...and I cut most of the knuckle makers away when I first got the tree.

Some clever bending could be in order, but, you're right, I need back budding!
Hopefully some buds will appear this year, as it is it's second year in the colander, and I'm gonna be feeding very strong.

I whacked a lot of stiff heavy this soring to test this...."should give me better old wood backbudding" theory. I will share.

Already beginning to think it is more specifically, cuts soon after growth begins...
Which means I was too early...

But IT is still too early!

Sorce
 

Japonicus

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Can you help understand leaving the stubs? Is it a potential die-back issue or something else?
It is possible to get deep scarring down the trunk if lopped off.
Leaving a stub till next year is more safe at preventing this as it dries out from a smaller
in diameter cut further away from the trunk naturally dying back. Do seal the cut.
 

M. Frary

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Can you help understand leaving the stubs? Is it a potential die-back issue or something else?
It is a potential dieback issue.
Some trees,Mugo pines being one,need the stub left on into fooling the tree the branch is still there. If not it's possible that if you cut a branch off flush the tree above the branch will die off.
I have a Mugo where this happened. From Vance. Maybe the one where he found out the hard way to leave stubs.
You can cut them off later or jin them.
 

Japonicus

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It is a potential dieback issue.
Some trees,Mugo pines being one,need the stub left on into fooling the tree the branch is still there. If not it's possible that if you cut a branch off flush the tree above the branch will die off.
I have a Mugo where this happened. From Vance. Maybe the one where he found out the hard way to leave stubs.
You can cut them off later or jin them.
Fortunately I've never had this occur. Vance always mentions it, I thought the die back or scarring would go South rather than North up the tree.
Sorry for the misinformation. Maples go South in my experience, figured the same would apply to all branch problems,
especially since Vance mentions the symbiotic relationship of branch to root, it just made sense the scarring would follow the same path.

I leave stubs on all lops for at least a season, usually till following year, be it deciduous or conifer, bonsai or landscape.
It is indeed a healing issue TN Jim.
 
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TN_Jim

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Saw this approach on many of his trees on y- tub, so much so that it was odd..this type of abandon ship resource allocation is fascinating, also in tandem with other species that employ this mechanism and not.

After seeing so many at different landscape supply-nursery-big box..went mugo hobo yesterday, got what is my first pine. Digging in via caution.
Much thanks
 

Hyn Patty

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Keeping an eye on this thread. My mini mugo is my 'Not a Contest' tree and while I had a mugo briefly many years ago, it never made it to bonsai training. So this one I have now is my first pine of any kind I'm trying to work with. Figures I'd have chosen one of the fussier and more difficult ones, right? But not exactly a lot of JWP or JBP around here for me to pick up. I'm keen to see how yours progresses.
 

A. Gorilla

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I'm not a go-to-guy for mugo, but fussy and difficult is relative. Comparing pines to pines, there is nothing fussy about their health or resilience. At least not in my climate. Mugo has the added benefit of surplus back budding. Winters? Pfff. Wake me up when polar bears arrive.

Speaking for my climate, I had fungus obliterate a Scots. Shockingly swift and aggressive. Probably why they are under represented in landscapes, and half of those don't look great. Fungus is something I clearly need to think about with Ponderosa (but they hang-in there). But so far, Mugo and Nigra are my stone-cold climate samurais. It's like they go into carbonite for the winter and look exactly the same upon waking up and dealing with a soggy March and April.
 

Hyn Patty

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I am aware that mine should LOVE living up on our mountain at 4,000 feet and not be bothered by a NC winter at all. It's the GA heat down here that has kept me from getting one before. Summers in GA are brutal and much better suited to my adeniums, orchids, coffee and cinnamon trees, and hibiscus. None of which are going to be thrilled with NC until I get a greenhouse built, haha.
 
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